Though I do regret that my mum got a scare, I have to admit that I’m happy the spider found a home in her sleeve instead of mine. I would either have collapsed – screaming – or gotten an adrenalin rush that would have lasted for three days – not the most relaxing thought either.Auch wenn ich bedaure, dass meine Mum einen Schreck kriegte, so bin ich doch froh, hat sich die Spinne in ihrem, anstatt meinem Ärmel gemütlich eingerichtet hat. Ich wäre entweder schreiend zusammengebrochen oder hätte einen Adrenalinschub für drei Tage gekriegt – auch keine sehr entspannende Vorstellung.

It is the time of the year when young birds leave their nest and so it’s probably no wonder that I happened upon this little fella on one of my last runs. Of course, I didn’t touch him or anything, just watched him sit there for a while, hoping that his family would find him and finish the job of teaching him how to fly.Es ist wieder die Jahreszeit der flügge werdenden Vögel und so scheint es wohl wenig erstaunlich, dass ich auf einem meiner letzten Läufe diesem kleinen Kerlchen begegnet bin. Natürlich habe ich ihn nicht angefasst sondern nur für eine Weile beobachtet, wie er geduldig dasitzt. Ich hoffte inständig, dass seine Familie ihn finden und ihm das Fliegen noch fertig beibringen würde.

On Saturday’s run a couple of bicyclists and fellow runners had to disturb a wedding party about to take pictures on this little footbridge down at Lady Bird Lake close to Longhorn Dam. It was drizzling at the time so they first had to remove the humongous pile of umbrellas they had piled up at the end/beginning of the bridge 🙂Auf meinem Samstags-Lauf mussten einige Velofahrer und Mit-Läufer eine Hochzeitsgesellschaft stören, die gerade dabei war, Fotos auf dieser kleinen Holzbrücke beim Lady Bird Lake nahe des Longhorn Dams zu schiessen. Es nieselte und so musste die Gesellschaft erst einmal den enormen Haufen Regenschirme aus dem Weg räumen, die sich am Anfang/Ende der Brücke aufgetürmt hatte 🙂

They’re a regular sight on my Town Lake runs.

The other day I finally stopped and took a picture of a flock of geese that I come upon quite frequently on my runs along Town Lake. I don’t know what it is about geese but they always make me smile. Their looks are very similar to that of swans but the latter have a tendency to scare me while geese just seem so much friendlier, not sure why. Probably because no goose ever tried to peck my brother to mush in his stroller back when he was a baby.Kürzlich habe ich mir endlich die Mühe gemacht anzuhalten und ein Foto dieser Gänseschar, die mir recht oft auf meinen Läufen um den Town Lake begegnet, zu machen. Ich bin mir nicht ganz im Klaren darüber, warum mich Gänse immer zum Grinsen bringen. Gänse sehen ja Schwänen ganz schön ähnlich, aber die Letzteren beunruhigen mich eher, während Gänse so viel freundlicher wirken; keine Ahnung. Vielleicht weil keine Gans je versucht hat, meinen Bruder in seinem Kinderwagen zu Brei zu picken als er noch ein Baby war.

While the current Stanley Cup final calls for Sharks vs. Penguins, the wildlife I encounter features just as much variety: Last week I spotted lots and lots of turtles along Ladybird Lake and one even sat quietly on the trail surrounding the lake. This weekend on my walk along the neighborhood wood and bush trail I walked upon – a giant, sunbathing snake! *OMG* At first I thought it was dead and I considered stepping over it. But my instinct knew better and retreated a few steps to consider the situation from afar – and sure enough: The snake lifted its head, darted its tongue in and out a couple of times and snaked its way off the path into the shrubberies. While quietly watching the snake I must have looked like a version of Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream.

And while keeping a cautious eye towards those same bushes I went on with my walk, undisturbed – most certainly because of my Gene Wilder-like stomp (see scene at 50m 20s) – and to this very day contemplating the kind of snake it may have been… If I was hard pressed for an answer I’d say it was a Desert Kingsnake, but couldn’t be sure. Because for quite obvious reasons I was reluctant to move my eyes away from the snake only to take a photo of it. Because I’m not a huge fan of “Look: selfie with snake – how cool’s thaaattt… arrrgh…”

Friday the 13th truly was partaking of adversity this time – namely, it was the first anniversary of Oscar’s death. Merlin’s was around April 9th or 10th. I observed his anniversary by running a 10k. Probably to drown any possibly emerging emotional suffering with physical pain.
For Oscar’s anniversary on the other hand I hadn’t planned anything at all as I prefer to think about their lives instead of how and when they died. I think I only entered the date into my calendar to proof to myself that I actually mad it this long without them. Something which at the beginning – and for what felt like half an eternity – seemed quite impossible, but that I have learned to cope with by now. And luckily, the real heavy moments are becoming fewer and fewer.

For example Oscar’s tenacity in following me around and rubbing up against my legs until I would eventually sit down and let him hop on my lap. And most of all his way to say “Mrrp” if something didn’t quite suit his plans.

Or Merlin who regularly awaited me after work sitting on a tree or next to the house, then came running up to me and – in his exhilaration – stood back on his hind legs to tap my hand with his front paws. Merlin-High-Five is what that was called.

We’ve had a couple of flowerpots on our patio for quite a while now and to my delight – and in spite of my really-not-so-green-thumb – the flowers continued to bloom. Until one day a squirrel took a liking to one of the plants. It started digging up the soil and munching the flowers and fresh leaves off.Schon seit einem Weilchen haben wir zwei Blumenkübel auf unserem Balkon und zu meinem Entzücken – und trotz meines wirklich-nicht-so-grünen-Daumens – haben die Blumen kontinuierlich geblüht. Bis eines Tages ein Eichhörnchen anfing, Gefallen an einer der Pflanzen zu finden. Es begann damit, die Erde aufzuwühlen und die Blumen und frischen Blätter abzuknabbern.

The other flower was never touched for some reason – until yesterday. When I came home from work the most pitiful sight awaited me: All that was left were some leafless flower stalks.Die andere Blume wurde seltsamerweise nie angerührt – bis gestern. Als ich von der Arbeit nach Hause kam, erwartete mich der armseligste Anblick: Alles was übrig geblieben ist, sind die blattlosen Blumenstängel.

The little black dots on my face and neck: Not freckles but gnats…

Deeply annoyed but motivated by the finally sunny weather I went for a run. And Mother Nature threw all the gnats it could find at me. So I avoided breathing through my mouth. Which had me catch a whole army of them in my nose. Back home when I blew my nose a whole armada of gnats streamed out. I’m pretty sure I ingested and inhaled some as well which would explain why all of a sudden I heard – and felt – that ominous rumble in my guts that you never wish to hear and especially not feel. Least of all when you’re on a run. I had to run home real fast to make it to the restroom on time…

While yesterday after work I couldn’t quite decide whether to go for a nap or a run and subsequently the devils and daemons in my head started to fare war I eventually took over and went for that long over-due post-race run. And it was pure joy! I felt like what I hope free-range chickens feel like: Let loose!

This week I’m not so much presenting my very own artistic abilities, but would like to share a bit of my favorite art that I find on the net. It is amazing to me how creative people can get in the most unusual situations and sometimes with the most unlikely objects.Diese Woche präsentiere ich nicht so sehr meine eigenen künstlerischen Fähigkeiten, sondern teile einige meiner liebsten Kunstprojekte, auf die ich jeweils im Internet stosse. Ich finde es atemberaubend, wie kreativ gewisse Leute in den ungewöhnlichsten Situationen und mit den unglaublichsten Materialien werden.

Hope you enjoy as much as I did!Hoffentlich geniesst ihr’s genauso sehr wie ich!

This is my absolute favorite as it not only includes art but also a cat. Can it get any better??!?Das ist mein absolutes Lieblingsprojekt, da es nicht nur Kunst, sondern auch eine Katze beinhaltet. Kann es noch besser werden??!?

Sometimes you only become aware of the full extent of your own knowledge when someone says it out loud. It just so happened to me last week on one of my runs. But let’s start from the beginning (Für Deutsch hier klicken):

Eeeck!!

According to my training plan I had to complete a three mile run on Wednesday which corresponds to nearly two laps on the forest path behind our house. 2 miles at average running speed, the last mile at a slightly faster pace. So I complete my first two miles at an easy pace, upping my tempo for the last remaining mile. But after a couple of hundred yards of tempo run a lady stopped me with the words that everyone on a forest path behind their house just loves to hear: “A hundred yards ahead a huge rattler just crossed the path. It was a female and I saw it disappear into the shrubberies and I’m sure it’s quite a bit further down by now but better keep your eyes open.” 8-| What now??!?

Yes, it’s true. I’ve seen a snake disappear into the bushes on this path before, but it was quite small and the sight didn’t really scare me. But to be told by someone that only moment earlier a beast of a rattlesnake (remember her direct quote: “a huge rattler”) has disappeared into the undergrowth… that leaves you with a queasy feeling. I couldn’t quite decide whether I should have a really good look into the bushes in order to actually discover the snake or to rather concentrate solely on the path in order to forget the matter as quickly as possible – to ensure I’m not driving myself totally

Rattler

crazy. Without actually planning to do so I met in the middle: I concentrated studiously on the path at my feet, where every tiniest bit of root suddenly turned into a potential snake. It was impossible to think of running until I reminded myself convincingly enough that I already knew that I might encounter pretty much anything on this path from rattlesnakes and tarantulas through to coyotes and even mountain lions. And I’d already survived an attack of red wasps on a walk on this path. Since then, I’m not wearing any headphones on this track anymore because I’m pretty sure I would have heard the buzzing of the wasps before I came to feel them hadn’t I been listening to another Three Investigators story with such rapt attention. So once I had my adrenaline under control again, I had already hit the road and was able to complete my sprint on pavement instead. Which undoubtedly improved my running speed. But whether I’ll soon be running on the forest track again remains to be seen.